Seeds
by DimpleCurlAeternaGirl
Summary: After meeting up with Jack, Kate discovers Sun's secret while they work in Sun's garden. One-Shot Based on 1x13 that follows "Desperately Seeking DC-3" final chapter.


**Disclaimer: Lost is owned by ABC Television and was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, produced by Bad Robot Productions. I don't own it but I love it!**

" **Love is the seed of all hope. It is the enticement to trust, to risk, to try, to go on." - Gloria Gaither**

It was a moderate day. The humidity wasn't oppressive and the jungle and shade offered some relief from the heat. Kate moved slowly, looking at the ground around the fruit trees. She had also dug up some plants by the roots and was carrying them.

She had an open-topped beach bag over her shoulder and had gently placed a few items she collected on top of her water bottle inside. It was a peaceful activity. She could hear the birds chirping and calling. Kate felt was feeling a sense of contentment.

Kate was doing something she enjoyed and working with someone she wanted to know better. She needed the productive labor they were both doing. Yesterday and last night were gut wrenching after her conflict with Jack.

They hadn't been on speaking terms since she lied to him about the marshal's case not having anything else in it besides the guns. It did. When he confronted her about it, the old, plastic DC-3 plane toy that puzzled him, it turned ugly. She broke down. He paced, then walked away. He had been avoiding her since. She hadn't approached him.

She didn't hate him. She knew she was despicable for deceiving him and didn't like herself because she couldn't just spit out the truth. She didn't know why she couldn't tell him about the toy and what it meant to her. Any reasons or explanation, something she knew he would demand, went back down a dark road in her past. It also included more recent events that she was still heartbroken over.

Jack yelled at her. He was impassioned and frustrated, but not hateful. She knew the difference. She broke down anyhow after divulging a partial truth about who it belonged to. It belonged to the man she loved. He kept yelling at her and she finally told him it belonged to the man she killed.

She didn't kill Tommy but felt responsible for it. She didn't explain it and he didn't ask her to or give her time. She sobbed after he cornered and pressed her. Then he paced quickly and left. Jack didn't speak to her afterwards, despite passing her later that evening on the beach. She felt his glance but didn't acknowledge it so he walked on. She didn't know if he was disgusted with her or held any remorse for breaking her. Maybe it was both.

He wasn't a bad person. She was the one with the pending charges. Her heart was heavy and she never felt more alone than she did at that bonfire by herself, holding the last reminder of her childhood, innocence, and only friend growing up. All were taken away too soon.

On top of that, Claire was still missing, kidnapped by Ethan who pretended to be a crash survivor.

Locke was disappearing, pretending to hunt boars but she knew better. It meant earlier mornings for her to gather different fruits to feed everyone, which was double the labor.

Jin was working harder to catch more fish. They didn't speak the same language but worked in concert to keep everyone fed and alive.

Kate needed some peace. What she was doing that afternoon was mentally restorative. Part of her wanted to curl up into a ball in her tent but she couldn't do that. Too many people depended on her gathering fruit. She didn't know if they even realized it was her but it didn't matter. It was a small form of penance and she liked contributing.

Kate continued to look for plants and fallen fruit. She knelt down, finding a piece she was looking for and checked its freshness. She began pulling seeds from it carefully.

She heard him before acknowledging him. She saw a flash of the white, short sleeved shirt and leather backpack pause and try to hide. He had been walking on the jungle path several yards away and was too tall to hide behind the foliage even though it was dense.

She continued working on her task. She found another fruit, partially dried, smelled it and put it in an old hand towel. She kept moving, collecting more stuff and noted he was following her and watching, lifting a leaf sometimes to see her. They moved in tandem. She moved. He moved.

She finally acknowledged him. She was squatting on the ground, gathering small items to put in her towel. She didn't look up. "I can see you there, you know."

She heard a breathy laugh and out of the corner of his eyes saw him shift from one foot to another. She wondered if he was going to lie and make up a story like when he did about checking her out after he found the caves. She stayed where she was and didn't turn, not knowing where they stood with each other.

He finally moved, ducking large leaves and walking past flowers and plants to get to her. "I wasn't hiding." He moved closer to her. She noticed it, not looking at him yet. She went to bite her thumbnail and stopped, realizing it was dirty. She covering her mouth for a moment. She had no urge to fight with him, only for things to be good between them again. "I just didn't want to disturb you from doing whatever it is you're doing."

He continued his approach. She sensed his curiosity. Jack, who always seemed to busy, on his way to see some patient or fix some problem, was quietly watching her for a while and trying to figure out what she was up to.

"It's not like it's a secret." She kept working, only glancing up to see his face when he was two feet from her.

"Hard to tell with you sometimes." He said.

She shot him a sour look and looked down, continuing her task. Jack hesitated, then came closer and squatted next to her. Kate felt that magnetic pull towards him but forced herself not to react. Did he feel it too?

He didn't make any more lighthearted jabs and chose close proximity and a kind, gentle approach when he spoke again.

He saw what she's holding in her little palm.

"Huh? Gross little grayish yellow thingies." He observed

It evoked a small smile from Kate, enough to show her dimples. She glanced up at him. "Passion fruit seeds."

"What are they for?" He asked.

She stood and looked at him, considering for several seconds as she read his body and face. He had stood too. She looked at Jack's face first and into his eyes. They reflected the green around them. He was watching her, not just from curiosity.

She could tell he wanted to talk to her from his relaxed posture, how close he stood and the openness of his stance.

He looked pleased to see her with his smile and the warmth his face radiated. He was sincere and looked at her with an expression he saved only for her when it was just the two of them.

She decided. "I'll show you. . . if you want to see."

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

She glanced at him. "Follow me." She moved past him and headed deeper into the jungle. He followed closely behind. She sensed a mild eagerness to his walk. It was springy and he was right on her heels.

It wasn't a big mystery what she was up to. She glanced back and saw he was captivated. Maybe, for him, it was finding out the truth of what she was up to with slimy seeds in her hand, or perhaps something more.

She turned away and smiled.

They hiked about just over a hundred yards and were almost there.

Jack joked. "Please tell me you found a coffee bar."

"Not quite." She laughed a little.

They walked it an open clearing. There was a garden there with furrows already built high to withstand the rains. Sun was on the ground, using a thin bamboo stick to bore holes in the soft soil at the top of each furrow and dropped seeds in. She was planting them in neatly arranged rows. Sun looked up and Jack and smiled modestly.

Jack was genuinely amazed. "Wow! When did you do this?"

Kate shook her head. "I didn't. It's all Sun. I wandered into this place when I was out picking fruit. I'm just helping."

Jack squatted down to admire everything and speak to Sun. "This is beautiful. It's great." He gestured widely over the entire plot she had been cultivating. Sun gave small, polite smile and single nod of appreciation.

Kate pointed out more of Sun's labors. "She's got herbs and some low growing stuff over here. And she's starting a grove over there." Kate pointed behind her towards the new tree grove Sun was planting.

Jack wandered around looking at the rows. He was obviously impressed. "This is smart. With the boar running out, we're gonna need all the food we can get."

Kate carefully handed the seeds she gathered over to Sun. Sun glanced at Kate and Jack as they talked.

"Maybe it's not running out." Kate kneeled in the dirt. She looked at him, then back at her work again to sort through what she gathered.

Jack squatted closely to her again. He was only a few feet away so they were more level to be face to face. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe Locke's just decided not to catch them for us anymore." She had been monitoring the situation. Locke and Boone returned every day from "hunting" empty-handed but dirty and tired.

She even saw them come back with the axe one day. They were up to something and it wasn't hunting. Locke was too skilled and driven to not be able to catch anything.

She knew in her gut Locke was lying, something she knew plenty about from growing up and being on the run.

She lied to survive on the road and hide her identity. She lied to do things she wasn't proud of. She lied to hide her shameful, pain-ridden past.

She hated herself for lying. She didn't want to be that person, but change wasn't going to occur overnight. It was yet another thing that made her feel low and not good enough for Jack. She didn't think people, including him, would like her if they knew the truth about things like Wayne, which made lying vs. telling the truth a catch-22.

Jack was having a hard time believing Locke would quit hunting. She could see it in his face. Great. She was telling him the truth. Jack needed to go figure that one out for himself and who he was going to believe. The proof was easy to find. He just needed to use his eyes and observe.

Kate knew firsthand how driven Jack was, wanting know details. He would no doubt go talk to Locke later, but doubted Locke would tell him the truth, only the lie again about the boars moving. "Why would he do that?"

She shrugged and looked at him in the eyes, her face serious, trying to drill in the truth of the matter. "There's a lot of mouths to feed. If the boar's thinning out, why should he feed everyone else at his own expense?"

Jack shook his head, having a hard time believing. He thought she was kidding. "You've got some trust issues, don't you, Kate?"

She smiled, not looking at him. He had no idea how many she had. "Yup. And in a few weeks, I'll have trust issues and lettuce." He would learn the truth soon enough.

Maybe he would come across a few boar in the jungle nearby like she did. She saw a mom boar and two large piglets the other day but said nothing. She also saw signs of other boar nearby from the wallows and recent scoring of their tusks on tree trunks, some of which she had to climb.

Kate knelt near Sun to continue planting while there was daylight. She caught a glimpse of Jack. He was thinking now and the smile he had on his face was changing into a slight frown. She could see the seeds of doubt taking root.

Jack said goodbye to both of them and left them to their work.

* * *

Kate and Sun continued to plant seeds. It was awkward communicating except through motions and gestures. Despite that, Kate found herself talking easily to Sun as the time passed.

She didn't think Sun understood her so she spoke the truth. She liked Sun, despite the language barrier and gardening, something Kate enjoyed, made her feel at ease, even though they were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

"Well this is nice. Just us girls again." Kate said, smiling as she planted.

Sun looked at her and smiled sweetly.

"Can you believe we've been here over three weeks?" Kate shook her head. "I was heading for Bali. I . . . travel a lot. I was looking forward to spending some time exploring the island." Kate paused, thinking how her plans had changed. "Somehow I ended up on a plane to LA instead." She looked over at Sun. "I guess this falls into the category of 'Be careful what you wish for.'"

Sun was planting. She didn't look over but smiled and laughed imperceptibly. Kate caught her.

Kate stopped and started at Sun, locking eyes on her. Sun turned and gave her a polite smile, patting the ground. Kate was still staring. "You understood me." Kate felt a little dazed.

Sun's smile disappeared. Kate kept staring at Sun. "You did, didn't you? You just understood what I said?" Kate knew she did. She had been going on about herself to Sun, something she didn't normally do with people and Sun understood every word. That meant for three weeks . . .

Sun's eyes got big. Kate, amazed, asked quietly, "You speak English?"

Sun, under the pressure and scrutiny, dropped the façade. Underneath it was fear. "Please, don't tell anyone!"

* * *

It was late afternoon. Kate and Sun were alone on the path and standing while quietly talking. The two petite women leaned against tree trunks to talk.

Kate knew Sun would continue her ruse at camp. It wasn't Kate's business to tell. She saw the fear on Sun's face and it worried her for her.

"Does anybody else know?" Kate asked.

Sun nodded. "Only Michael."

"But not your husband." Kate surmised.

Sun took it in but didn't discuss him. "Please. . ." she started. Kate knew she was begging for secrecy

"Don't worry. I can keep a secret." Kate reassured her. She of all people knew how vital it was to keep some things secret.

Sun gave her a small smile and volunteered more information. She took a breath. "I took English lessons in Korea." She looked guilty. "He doesn't know. It's complicated."

Kate listened to this, mentally flashing back to Sun after the crash, oppressed, modestly dressed, unhappy and stuck following her husband around. Now she wore tank top and was gardening independently while her husband fished.

Sun was helping and a great assistant to Jack with her plant knowledge. She was an asset to the group. Kate couldn't can't imagine what life and marriage was like for her before based on when the women first "met." There was a language barrier but some communication, words, gestures, looks, were universal. She knew there was a lot more about Sun than met the eye.

"Why don't you tell him now?" Kate asked, not knowing the full story.

Sun shook her head adamantly. "I can't."

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Because I love him." Sun declared.

"I don't understand." Kate shook her head. She didn't get it. It was a big secret but could benefit both of them in the island.

Sun closed her eyes, then looked directly at Kate, her eyes brimming with knowledge and kindness. "Have you never lied to a man you've loved?"

Kate's eyes filled sadness and she pressed her lips together slightly.

Sun was there when she talked about the marshal's case to Jack to enroll his help to get it from Sawyer. She lied to him less than 24 hours ago.

She couldn't openly state what her feelings were towards Jack, but she understood.

She also knew Sun was using that as an example. Sun witnessed the conversation.

* * *

The two women were slowly making their way back in silence. Sun lived in the caves, Kate at the beach. Kate needed more water so she walked with Sun. They mutually agreed to stopped talking a while back in case they came across anyone.

They saw Jin. Sun went to meet him. He was returning from fishing. The two talked softly in Korean. It was the gentle, normal speech of a couple catching up after a day of hard work.

Kate watched them talk intimately. She wondered how two people who had so little communication one level could obviously be so in love.

They looked like a happy couple, complicated, but happy.

She wistfully watched them walk away.

She followed them into the caves go get water and ended up sitting with the old towel, wetting it in front of a small waterfall to wash off her face and neck. They were nearby, settling in. Watching Sun and Jin made her feel a little lonely.

"They look happy." Someone was behind her. It was Jack. He sat down and scooted his tall body over to sit close to her.

"Happy?" Kate asked, as if it was a foreign word.

"Yeah, you remember happy, right?" His eyes radiated warmth and humor. Kate chuckled a little.

She could tell he enjoyed her laughter and was watching her smile. He reached into his front pocket.

"Put out your hand." He said. Now she was intrigued.

"My hand?" She asked playfully.

"You'll like it. I swear." Jack simply stated.

Kate looked at Jack, searching his handsome face and eyes, full of warmth and humor. She was trying to figure out what he was doing, especially after yesterday. He was behaving like it never happened.

She bit the side of her lip. Slowly, she held out her hand and opened her small palm, unsure what he was going to put there. Jack put his large hand on top of hers and opened it. Their hands touching softly as he carefully put something tiny things inside hers. Kate felt warmth radiate from his touch. It went from her hand through her body from the simple contact.

Kate, remembering what Jack said earlier about passion fruit seeds, asked. "Gross little greyish yellow thingies?"

Jack pretended to be insulted but didn't stop smiling at her. "Excuse me. These are slimy little black-blue thingies."

"Guava seeds?" She asked, smiling. She was pleasantly surprised. He was so busy and went and found some for the grove to give to her.

"What's a garden without guava?"

"A question I've been asking myself forever." She grinned at him. "Thank you." She liked the idea of adding guava.

She had read a while back that guava was one of the fruits in Tibet that symbolized abundance, maturity and ripeness. They were delicious and grew in abundance on a mature tree. It was the perfect addition.

Jack smiled at Kate. Kate feel the pull towards him and saw he felt it too. It was the strong tide that flowed between and around them. It was pulling them back together this time.

They simultaneously looked at each other's faces. She saw Jack look at her face, her dimples, stray curls resting on her cheeks, and freckles. He finally gazed deeply into her eyes. She smiled with her face resting on her left palm without looking away.

She looked deeply into his eyes at the same time, after admiring his chiseled face, scruff, and slightly mysterious smile. His eyes were dark brown now and mysterious in the light, like a bottomless lake she could easily drown in.

Happy? Yes, now she could remember happy.

He was in no rush leave.

Neither was she.


End file.
